WARREN COUNTY CONNECTION

A Publication of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County

Composting

Composting can improve soil health. Compost is decomposed organic material. Compost is made with material such as leaves, shredded twigs, and kitchen scraps from plants. To gardeners, compost is considered "black gold" because of its many benefits in the garden. Compost is a great material for garden soil. Adding compost to clay soils makes them easier to work and plant. In sandy soils, the addition of compost improves the water holding capacity of the soil. By adding organic matter to the soil, compost can help improve plant growth and health.

Composting is also a good way to recycle leaves and other yard waste. Instead of paying a company to haul away leaves, you can compost the leaves and return the nutrients to your garden. Instead of buying peat moss, save money and make your own compost!

The composting process

The composting process involves four main components: organic matter, moisture, oxygen, and bacteria.

Organic matter includes plant materials and some animal manures. Organic materials used for compost should include a mixture of brown organic material (dead leaves, twigs, manure) and green organic material (lawn clippings, and fruit rinds).

• Brown materials supply carbon, while green materials supply nitrogen.

• The best ratio is 1 part green to 1 part brown material.

• Shredding, chopping or mowing these materials into smaller pieces will help speed the composting process by increasing the surface area.

• For piles that have mostly brown material (dead leaves), try adding a handful of commercial 10-10-10 fertilizer to supply nitrogen and speed the compost process.

Moisture is important to support the composting process. Compost should be comparable

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Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Warren County

377 Schroon River Road

Warrensburg, NY 12885

Phone: (518) 623-3291 or (518) 668-4881

Visit Our Web Site: www.cce.cornell.edu/warren

Who We Are

Nation-wide, thousands of people in each state tap into their state’s land-grant university research and know-how to make sound confident decisions concerning family, home, business, finances, and the future. In New York State, the land-grant university is Cornell University.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension network brings you the expertise of Cornell University, other land-grant universities across the country and locally-based Extension Educators, volunteers, and other experts through such programs as: horticulture, youth and families, leadership, environment, food, nutrition & health, home environment, and financial management.

Staff

John Bowe, Interim Executive Director & Associate Team Leader

Dan Carusone, 4-H Natural Resources Coordinator

Roxanne Westcott, 4-H Family Living Educator

Sharon Bellamy, Finance Manager

Amy Sabattis, Public Relations/Publications Manager

Michele Baker, Administrative Assistant

Barb Galusha, Administrative Assistant

Joe Phillips, Facilities Coordinator

Board of Directors

Jim Kneeshaw - President

David Strainer - Vice President

David Little - Treasurer

CheriLyn Dempsey - Secretary

Hal Bain

Lisa Earl

Maureen Folk

William Hamelin

Cynthia Muratori

Cornell Administration

Danielle Hautaniemi

Extension Service Committee

Chair - Ben Driscoll

Daniel Bruno

Brad Magowan

Debra Runyon

Mark Smith

Please visit our website for more eventswww.cce.cornell.edu/warren

Facebook & Instagram - Look for CCE Warren

April Calendar

WHEP: Amazing Amphibians

When: Thursday, May 11th

Time: 6PM

Where: CCE Training Center

Cost: No fee.

If possible, we will visit Pack Forest Lake to see if we can find frogs, toads, and salamanders as they move into or out of vernal pools. Cloverbuds welcome, with adult!

Map & Compass / Beginner Guide Camping

When: Saturday, May 13th

Time: 9am 3pm

Where: CCE Training Center

Cost: $5/person

The 4-H Adirondack Guides will be holding their annual Map and Compass/Beginner Guide training. These programs are mandatory for all new Guides, but are optional for experienced Guides. During this program, Guides will learn how to read topographic maps, and how to use them in conjunction with a compass. All participants will be able to put their learning to use in a practical, hands-on portion of the class, in which they will use their newfound skills to navigate. Open to ALL 4-H members ages 10 and up.

Pre-registration is required by May 6th and can be done by e-mailing mlb222@cornell.edu or calling the office at 518-668-4881/518-623-3291.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County, NY, a 501 (C) (3) Fed. ID #14-6036880 educational organization, is planning our 14th Annual Cornell Cooperative Extension Golf Tournament& Silent Auction on August 26, 2023, 10 am at the Cronin’s Golf Resort on Golf Course Road in Warrensburg, NY. Monies raised through this event will be used to helap support our association’s educational programs.

Contact Amy Sabattis for details!

518-623-3291 or email als77@cornell.edu

If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act and need assistance with attending these workshops, please make your needs known by the registration deadline. Reasonable efforts will be made for accommodations.

By Margaret Skinner, University of Vermont Extension Entomologist

Lymantria dispar dispar (commonly called spongy moth, formerly gypsy moth) is an exotic pest accidentally introduced into the US over 150 years ago. It used to cause major defoliation in forest, rural and urban settings every 8-10 years. Until 2021, we hadn’t seen an outbreak since the early 1990s thanks in large part to an insect-killing fungus called Entomophaga maimaiga that infects the larvae. In 2020, a few reports of an abundance of spongy moth caterpillars were received, and in 2021, people all around Vermont reported large numbers of an unfamiliar caterpillar, which were in fact spongy moth. It had been so long since we had an outbreak, many people didn’t recognize them anymore, but they do now, and they are not happy to see them return. Spongy moth has a wide host range (over 300 identified species), feeding mostly on deciduous hardwoods, and particularly favors oak, maple, birch and apple trees. However, when food is scarce, they even feed on pine needles.

The caterpillars are greyish with six pairs of raised red spots and four pairs of raised blue ones and tufts of yellowish hairs. They start out tiny when they hatch from the egg in early spring, and spin down the tree on thin silken threads, landing in your hair or plants below. They shed their skin 5-6 times over their life, each time getting larger. After the last molt they can reach 3 inches long! By the time they get that big, they are voracious feeders and can devour all the leaves on young trees and shrubs. Larvae have an interesting feeding behavior to escape predators, such as birds and small mammals. They climb into the canopy of host trees at night to feed, and climb back down in the early morning to hide in the leaf litter or in bark crevices on the trunk. This behavior is a handy way for homeowners to manage them too. A band of burlap or soft weed cloth can be wrapped around host trees, held in place with twine and folded over itself (don’t staple or nail it in place!). Caterpillars hide under the burlap, and can be removed in the morning and disposed of in the trash in a closed bag or in a can of soapy water with a bit of rubbing alcohol. When populations are high, caterpillars can be seen crawling on the sides of homes and barns during the day. They are not trying to get in the house, but are seeking a hiding place like they do in the bark crevices on tree trunks. They can be removed daily with a shop vac containing a small amount of soapy water, but make sure you empty the canister afterwards. The key to success with these manual methods is to be diligent. You must remove the caterpillars every morning. Keep in mind that every egg mass can have 50 to 1,500 eggs so there may be a lot of caterpillars crawling around. The hairs of spongy moth can cause skin irritation for some people. Therefore, if you are prone to allergies, it is advised that you wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants and gloves to avoid touching them.

The state decided not to conduct an aerial spray program this year. However, there are several insecticides registered for use by homeowners against spongy moth caterpillars. Contact insecticides kill when they are sprayed on the caterpillar. There are also several biological control products that contain a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk). This is a stomach poison that kills the caterpillar after it feeds on leaves sprayed with the insecticide. This is a more environmentally friendly option because it is toxic to a limited number of caterpillars and doesn’t harm many other non-target organisms. It works best when caterpillars are still small. Before using any insecticide, READ THE LABEL, and follow the instructions to protect yourself. Make sure you only use products registered for spongy moth. Because they feed high up in the tree, it may be necessary to seek the assistance of a tree service if you want to obtain full spray coverage of the tree canopy. If you are considering spraying an insecticide to target caterpillars crawling on your house, do a test spray on a small area to make sure it doesn’t harm the siding.

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If you have small trees that are getting defoliated by spongy moth, make sure to water them regularly to eliminate drought stress. It is best to do one deep watering per week with 20 gallons to make sure the water gets to the roots. Watering daily with few gallons is not effective. If possible, young trees should be protected from caterpillars with bands around the trunk. If concerned about drought stress on larger trees, water them deeply at the drip line of the canopy, not close to the base of the trunk. When the caterpillars reach their last molt, they find a secluded place in which to pupate. The pupa is brownish and can be found in bark crevices even under burlap bands. These also should be removed to reduce the population. Adults emerge from the pupae as either whitish non-flying females or brownish males that fly. The females lay their eggs in clusters on the bark, and shed camelcolored hairs to cover the eggs. These egg masses can be scraped off with a knife or fingernail and collected in a container of soapy water and vegetable oil to further reduce the population before next spring.

The good news is there’s only one generation per year, so when they pupate later this summer, the defoliation from spongy moth is over. In addition, is an early-season defoliator. Heavily defoliated trees should produce new leaves and if it isn’t too dry over the summer they will recover. Hopefully the population surge we are observing now will be slowed with infection by the fungus, other naturally-occurring parasites and predators, or by the diligence of homeowners to reduce populations on their trees. Time will tell.

Useful websites to review:

• https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/ insects-arachnids/spongy-moths

• https://www.canr.msu.edu/ipm/invasive_species/Gypsy

-Moth/index

• https://extension.psu.edu/preparing-for-high-gypsymoth-densities-in-2021

• https://extension.unh.edu/resource/gypsy-moth-factsheet

• https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/spongy-moth